Sunday, October 29, 2017

Berets on Strike

Strike action, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused
by the mass refusal of employees to work.

Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when
mass labor became important in factories and mines. In most countries, strike
actions were quickly made illegal, as factory owners had far more power than
workers. Most Western countries partially legalized striking in the late 19th
or early 20th centuries.

Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments to change
policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilize the rule of a particular political
party or ruler; in such cases, strikes are often part of a broader social
movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance. Notable examples
are the 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard or 1981 Warning Strike, led by Lech Wałęsa.

These
strikes were significant in the long campaign of civil resistance for political
change in Poland, and were an important mobilizing effort that contributed to
the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of communist party rule in Eastern
Europe.

The use of the English word "strike" first
appeared in 1768, when sailors, in support of demonstrations in London,
"struck" or removed the topgallant sails of merchant ships at port,
thus crippling the ships. Official publications have typically used the more
neutral words "work stoppage" or "industrial dispute".

About Me

Daan Kolthoff is a writer, living between the hills of Wellington, New Zealand and, when not writing, meditating or walking the hills, he is usually researching, reading about or ordering berets from around the world.